Removing shine from fabrics



which said wetting agent is selected from the 10 group consisting of alkali sulfates and sulfonates of higher organic alcohols.

3. A process in accordance with claim'i in which said wetting agent is a sodium sulfate of a higher alcohol.

4. A process in accordance with claim 1 in which said wetting agent is sodium 3,9 diethyltridecanol 6 sulfate.

RALBEH. h

REFERENCES orrEn The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,017,151 Jamieson Feb. 13, 1912 1,280,698 Foree Oct, 8, 1918 1,650,412 Adams Nov. 22, 1927 2,035,641 Dickie et al Mar. 31, 1936 OTHER REFERENCES New Detergents," by R. A. Duncan in Incl. 8;

15 Eng. Chem. for January, 1934, pages 24, 25, 26.

(Available in Scientific Library oi U. 8. Patent Ofilce.)

Patented Jan. 18 1949 UNITED s'ra'res REMOVING SHINE FROM FABRICS Ralph H. McKee, New York, N. Y.

No Drawing. Application September 28, 1944,

- Serial N0. 558,299

This invention relates to the removal of shine provide a simple, economical and eflicient method for the removal of shine from woolen textiles and other fabrics.

An important object of the invention is to provide for the removal of shine from worn clothing, such as men's and womens suits without injury to the material.

A further object of the invention is to provide a process of removing shine from worn clothing which may be safely practiced by unskilled persons.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.

As is well known, clothing made from various fabrics, such as wollen, silk, rayon or cotton textiles, acquire a shine, due to the matting of the fibers or threads, after such clothing has been worn for some time. in the case of men's wool suits which become shiny at the shoulders, elbows, and trouser seats. Women's apparel also gives trouble by becoming shiny at the shoulders and back of the skirt.

Although this shine does not prevent further Shine is developed on ordinary worn cloth be- 5 cause the nap is laid down fiat on'the cloth. It is not, as frequently thought, because the nap is worn off the cloth. The fibers being laid nearly fiat and largely parallel, are able to refleet the light and thereby give the effect known 40 as shiny. This is the principal cause of shine in fabrics. However, there are two further factors which, if not a cause, certainly contribute to increased shine. r

The first of these is that the normally round thread or yarn of the cloth is flattened, especially on the shoulders, arms and seat of the garment, by being exposed to pressure and rubbing, the surface of the fabric thereby becoming smoothed.

This effect is nearly identical with the effect of 4 Claims. (CI. 26-29) This is particularly true 25 2 friction calenders on fabrics whereby, in the textile finishing industry, friction calendering gives to many types of fabrics a glossy finish.

The second factor is the agglomeration of dust and grime, especially in those parts of garments which are exposed to rubbing. This grime and dust rubbed in on the surface of the cloth increases the mechanical smoothing of the surface of the fabric and also causes thedibers to adhere to each other, thereby making the shine still more apparent and persistent as well as dullin the colors of the fabric.

Various methods of removing the shine have heretofore been proposed but such methods have not proved to be wholly satisfactory. For ex ample, one method heretofore proposed involves the removal of the shine by treatment of the cloth with an alkali, such as ammonia, and rather heavy brushing simultaneously, preferably with a wire brush. The alkali employed in this method is of such strength as to weaken the fabric considerably because of the solvent action of the alkali on wool or silk fiber. Other proposed processes use vinegar or other acid solutions but these, of course, will destroy many dyedcolors and also injure cotton thread with which wool fabrics are sewn, as well as cotton, rayon and other fabrics.

I Navy and other uniforms sometimes have had the shine removed by theuse of sand paper or pumice stone, but with the removal of the shine also goes the surface of the cloth.

Another prior art process involves the use of a mechanical picker, with or without a dampening solution, which picks up the individual fibers or threads a few at a time. This is a complicated procedure necessitating the use of skilled operators and the cost of removing the shine by this method has proved to be unreasonably high.

I have now developed a method of removing shine from fabrics which is not only highly efllcient and non-injurious to the cloth but is also so simple in practice that it can be carried out by the housewife or any operator in a tailor shop. As a-result, shiny suits and other articles of clothing may be greatly improved in appearance at .small cost and the period of wear of the clothing thereby lengthened.

In the practice of my process, the article of clothing to be treated is first sp'onged with a 

